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Logan Morrison hits 2 HRs as Rays breeze past Orioles

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Logan Morrison homered twice, Wilson Ramos hit a three-run drive and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Dylan Bundy and the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 on Saturday.

Steven Souza had a solo shot for the Rays, who have 23 home runs in their last 12 games. Morrison, who connected in the first inning and again in the third, has 24 for the season – a career high.

Jake Odorizzi (5-3) was the beneficiary of Tampa Bay’s 14-hit attack, which included four doubles. The right-hander pitched five innings, allowing at least three earned runs for the sixth start in a row. He also yielded a home run in his 12th successive appearance, a club record.

The Rays will seek to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday. They are already assured their first series win against Baltimore after going 0-5-1 since April 2016.

Jonathan Schoop homered for the Orioles, who fell behind 8-1 in the fifth inning. It was the 11th game this season in which Baltimore allowed at least 10 runs.

Bundy (8-7) was pitching on six days’ rest, part of the team’s quest to limit his innings. The 24-year-old missed parts of three minor league seasons with arm problems and is already at 103 innings this season after reaching 109 2/3 as a rookie last year.

“I’m kind of curious to see how Dylan is today with the extra rest,” manager Buck Showalter said before the game.

The answer: Not good.

After rain delayed the start of the game for 1 hour, 12 minutes, Bundy threw 31 pitches in the first inning and gave up three runs. Mallex Smith hit a leadoff single and scored from first base on a hit-and-run single by Evan Longoria before Morrison homered to dead center.

Bundy struck out the side in the second before Morrison and Souza went very deep in the third. Morrison’s shot landed on Eutaw Street beyond the right-field scoreboard, and two pitches later Souza put one over the center-field wall and into the Rays bullpen for a 5-1 lead.

Bundy allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. He struck out seven.

Ramos homered off Alec Asher in the fifth, and not long after that many in the crowd of 28,346 began heading toward the exits.

QUALITY AT-BAT

Tampa Bay’s Shane Peterson fouled off 11 pitches before hitting a double in the fourth inning to end a 15-pitch at-bat. The marathon lifted Bundy’s pitch count from 76 to 91.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: INF Tim Beckham was out of the lineup after leaving Friday’s game with left ankle soreness. … INF Brad Miller, on the DL since June 7 with a right groin strain, began a rehabilitation assignment Saturday at Class-A Charlotte. He played three innings at second base in the opener of a doubleheader.

Orioles: Closer Zach Britton (forearm strain) emerged from Friday’s one-inning outing with Class-A Frederick feeling good. “I felt like I was ready to pitch in the big leagues,” Britton said Saturday. The lefty will pitch one inning for Triple-A Norfolk on Monday and come off the 60-day DL on Wednesday in Milwaukee. … 1B Chris Davis (oblique) intends to start throwing Monday. “If that goes well, we will proceed to more stressful baseball activities,” Showalter said.

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Alex Cobb (6-5, 3.73 ERA), who took a no-hitter into the seventh and pitched eight scoreless innings at Pittsburgh on Tuesday, starts Sunday.

Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (4-7, 6.07 ERA) starts for Baltimore. He has given up three runs over his last 11 innings, including 5 1/3 shutout innings Tuesday in Toronto.

Republished with permission from the Associated Press.

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